Please understand that my intent when publishing lots of individual mod pages isn't to spam the Nexus. There is no way to publish a page but have it hidden from the front page of search results. I am trying to trickle out the pages slowly, but I have 40 to upload so if I upload 5-8 per day as I have been doing it is still going to take me most of a week to do it. Preparing all the materials for all the pages took me upwards of 80 hours over the last week, so believe me if there was a viable alternative I would have taken it. That isn't counting the time it took to prepare the optimized textures, testing etc.
Some people have accused me of click-baiting. I am using descriptive titles, it is not my fault some views truncate the titles, but it only takes a mouse over and you have a clear description too if you are using a tiled view.
Optional files isn't designed to handle 120+ current "optional" files and I will most likely have more than that soon enough.
Version numbers for optional files downloaded in NMM are set at the time of download based on the version number on the options page, bottom right of each file entry, or from what is in the FOMOD (I don't use Fomods for this project). When NMM does a version check it compares that number with the current version number of the mod as a whole. So for mods with lots of options such as Armorsmith, you get lots of triangle warnings even though you are up to date on all files. It causes me no end of frustration on multiple popular mods with lots of options.
Here is an example of what it is currently like using the main SWOP file and some older patches that are still "current" because I haven't retired them yet (the guns have their own pages).
Just imagine what a block of 20 or 30 seclected texture mods is going to look like... a wall of triangles with false warnings, and no idea when an actual warning is true.
It causes what I like to think of as "warning blindness" - half your mod version column ends up full of warning triangles for optional files which are actually up to date. As a mod author changing the version number on the page doesn't help the people who have already downloaded the files.
What NMM should do is compare filename downloaded to filename on server, and if you have the latest filename then the 2.1 optional file is still current, even if the main file is at 2.2. But it doesn't.
It kinda works for real optional files that change every time a primary file changes, such as some of the landscape/grass retexture projects that also offer upscales/downscales with every release, and it works for some option patches for guns that get updated frequently to reflect a current version.
Unfortunately it can't possibly work for my project.
Creating all these extra pages is a considerable investment in time, but eventually every single page will have it's own optional files, and maybe also optimized versions of retextures, thus multiplying out the amount of files considerably. It also has a negative marketing effect. If someone downloads an optional file, they can endorse the parent. In my case I only get endorsements on the main project if someone downloads the main project instead.
Ultimately I am thinking about the long-term usability for my users, whereas a few are thinking about the short term inconvenience for them of clicking a link to look at a second page. So much so they troll my comments on multiple mods.
Nothing can help computers such as mine. Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500 CPU @ 3.30GHz 3.30GHz 4GB RAM. NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB V-RAM. I have problem with FPS, even huge problem with FPS (It's near 30~ on minimal), but load speed and time for changing of weapons is OK, and I can't believe that someone has it. Maybe u will just create only 1 page and put all ur files there? Cuz now u just wasting the place on main page for useful mods.
Indeed this seems very spammy. Cant you just host them all on one page? The combined project and each standalone all on one page? Its taking up half the room on the new mod page... One or two standalone I understand, but this many? Are you going to release one for each weapon that comes out?
There is a package of all 40 weapons uploaded last Monday - 400+ people decided to download it yesterday instead of downloading individual guns. The stats are public. I spent most of the day today with family so a lot less published pages.
If it hadn't been for the individual uploads I am sure they wouldn't have found the main pack.
Lots of people have problems switching guns, it is something that appears in the comments of guns all the time.
I need to have all 40+ guns have individual pages to manage individual patches especially when I have different texture versions as I have planned and clearly explained on the main project page.
Having 40 optional files would be a nightmare, 120 would be a disaster.
Plus optional files always list the version of the main file in NMM, whereas as separate mods they retain their own version numbers. That is the smart version control... it is a ton more work for me, but people using just the optional files will only see a notification to update when they need to update.
As to flooding... I am trying to be respectful and trickle them out slowly, but I don't have an option to skip the front page when publishing.
Many people decide to get the full pack, as seen by the 400 downloads of the main pack yesterday. But the individual files are being downloaded by tons of people too. Maybe they have limited bandwidth and can't cope with a 200MB pack that is updated fairly frequently, or only use very few weapons.
Also you get people publishing tons of small mods, then rolling them into an all-in-one.
I could have done the same, and then published an all-in-one. But I had all the textures already... so I published the all-in-one first.
That was actually a marketing mistake that will near enough guarantee that the all-in-one will never see hot files, because I have only been trickling out the smaller downloads.
I am sure the biggest difference between our systems is memory related but the issues people have are real.
I have a very, very solid machine that runs this game maxed out at 60 FPS with ease, and I have still experienced the weapon switch issue. I've ended up with empty hands more times than I can count. So, if this helps someone avoid that issue at all, then that's awesome! It's not for me personally, but it seems useful.
As for it taking a lot of room, I guess I just don't get why its a big deal, since its quite easy to not click on them. *Shrug* I don't find it an issue, but that is really for the moderators and admins to decide, not a random person, imo.
Also as a side-note... just like with every other mod that requires another mod, every page I upload also gives the original author a little more exposure for their weapon.
I haven't been "exclusive" only offering to do optimization for the most popular weapons. I plan to cover as many as I can no matter how popular.
That is also a feature of the main project page, position in the listing is randomized, and I change the random order each time I update the main file.
Im not saying it doesnt provide a benefit. I am sure it does. Just seems like it might be better all on one page. I myself have released standalone parts of a mod, but its because those standalone parts do different things than the main mod. All of these dont - they do the exact same thing as the main mod.
I am certainly not the police here. You can do what you want. But IMHO, its a pain to keep ONE mod page updated. Keeping 40+ updated will be a nightmare. Just my opinion.
I think about user convenience and the nightmare of working out whether you need to download a whole file or just a patch.
Imagine someone were using 6 optional files instead of the main one.
I update the main file to 2.3 because I add some new guns, or a fix for something the player doesn't use.
All 6 optional files will show a warning in NMM that the main file version has changed, and they would have to check to see if their specific weapon choice has been updated.
With individual pages, they will get version numbers specific to what they want, no more false alarms.
It is a lot more work for me to set up, make each page presentable etc but long term maintenance is actually the same and maybe less than coping with 120+ optional files all attached to 1 master.
10 comments
Please understand that my intent when publishing lots of individual mod pages isn't to spam the Nexus. There is no way to publish a page but have it hidden from the front page of search results. I am trying to trickle out the pages slowly, but I have 40 to upload so if I upload 5-8 per day as I have been doing it is still going to take me most of a week to do it.
Preparing all the materials for all the pages took me upwards of 80 hours over the last week, so believe me if there was a viable alternative I would have taken it.
That isn't counting the time it took to prepare the optimized textures, testing etc.
Some people have accused me of click-baiting. I am using descriptive titles, it is not my fault some views truncate the titles, but it only takes a mouse over and you have a clear description too if you are using a tiled view.
Optional files isn't designed to handle 120+ current "optional" files and I will most likely have more than that soon enough.
Version numbers for optional files downloaded in NMM are set at the time of download based on the version number on the options page, bottom right of each file entry, or from what is in the FOMOD (I don't use Fomods for this project). When NMM does a version check it compares that number with the current version number of the mod as a whole.
So for mods with lots of options such as Armorsmith, you get lots of triangle warnings even though you are up to date on all files. It causes me no end of frustration on multiple popular mods with lots of options.
Here is an example of what it is currently like using the main SWOP file and some older patches that are still "current" because I haven't retired them yet (the guns have their own pages).
Just imagine what a block of 20 or 30 seclected texture mods is going to look like... a wall of triangles with false warnings, and no idea when an actual warning is true.
It causes what I like to think of as "warning blindness" - half your mod version column ends up full of warning triangles for optional files which are actually up to date. As a mod author changing the version number on the page doesn't help the people who have already downloaded the files.
What NMM should do is compare filename downloaded to filename on server, and if you have the latest filename then the 2.1 optional file is still current, even if the main file is at 2.2. But it doesn't.
It kinda works for real optional files that change every time a primary file changes, such as some of the landscape/grass retexture projects that also offer upscales/downscales with every release, and it works for some option patches for guns that get updated frequently to reflect a current version.
Unfortunately it can't possibly work for my project.
Creating all these extra pages is a considerable investment in time, but eventually every single page will have it's own optional files, and maybe also optimized versions of retextures, thus multiplying out the amount of files considerably.
It also has a negative marketing effect. If someone downloads an optional file, they can endorse the parent. In my case I only get endorsements on the main project if someone downloads the main project instead.
Ultimately I am thinking about the long-term usability for my users, whereas a few are thinking about the short term inconvenience for them of clicking a link to look at a second page.
So much so they troll my comments on multiple mods.
Any constructive comments regarding this I am happy to entertain in this dedicated forum post on the main SWOP mod page.
Any similar discussion here henceforth will be deleted and reported to moderators as per the terms of service.
Lots of people benefit from using optimized textures or didn't you see the testimonial?
A huge amount of time/effort is being put into this project. If it doesn't benefit you, move along as per the Nexus rules.
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500 CPU @ 3.30GHz 3.30GHz
4GB RAM. NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB V-RAM.
I have problem with FPS, even huge problem with FPS (It's near 30~ on minimal), but load speed and time for changing of weapons is OK, and I can't believe that someone has it.
Maybe u will just create only 1 page and put all ur files there? Cuz now u just wasting the place on main page for useful mods.
If it hadn't been for the individual uploads I am sure they wouldn't have found the main pack.
Lots of people have problems switching guns, it is something that appears in the comments of guns all the time.
I need to have all 40+ guns have individual pages to manage individual patches especially when I have different texture versions as I have planned and clearly explained on the main project page.
Having 40 optional files would be a nightmare, 120 would be a disaster.
Plus optional files always list the version of the main file in NMM, whereas as separate mods they retain their own version numbers. That is the smart version control... it is a ton more work for me, but people using just the optional files will only see a notification to update when they need to update.
As to flooding... I am trying to be respectful and trickle them out slowly, but I don't have an option to skip the front page when publishing.
Many people decide to get the full pack, as seen by the 400 downloads of the main pack yesterday.
But the individual files are being downloaded by tons of people too. Maybe they have limited bandwidth and can't cope with a 200MB pack that is updated fairly frequently, or only use very few weapons.
Also you get people publishing tons of small mods, then rolling them into an all-in-one.
I could have done the same, and then published an all-in-one. But I had all the textures already... so I published the all-in-one first.
That was actually a marketing mistake that will near enough guarantee that the all-in-one will never see hot files, because I have only been trickling out the smaller downloads.
I am sure the biggest difference between our systems is memory related but the issues people have are real.
http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/graphics/desktop/5000/5750
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gts-450/specifications
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=1&cmp%5B%5D=50
As for it taking a lot of room, I guess I just don't get why its a big deal, since its quite easy to not click on them. *Shrug* I don't find it an issue, but that is really for the moderators and admins to decide, not a random person, imo.
I haven't been "exclusive" only offering to do optimization for the most popular weapons. I plan to cover as many as I can no matter how popular.
That is also a feature of the main project page, position in the listing is randomized, and I change the random order each time I update the main file.
I am sure they have gained some benefit.
I am certainly not the police here. You can do what you want. But IMHO, its a pain to keep ONE mod page updated. Keeping 40+ updated will be a nightmare. Just my opinion.
Imagine someone were using 6 optional files instead of the main one.
I update the main file to 2.3 because I add some new guns, or a fix for something the player doesn't use.
All 6 optional files will show a warning in NMM that the main file version has changed, and they would have to check to see if their specific weapon choice has been updated.
With individual pages, they will get version numbers specific to what they want, no more false alarms.
It is a lot more work for me to set up, make each page presentable etc but long term maintenance is actually the same and maybe less than coping with 120+ optional files all attached to 1 master.